Natural stones dug up on mines and quarries such as granite has been a common building material nowadays. The beauty and toughness of these stones make it a suitable material for home renovation and construction. However, granite can be quite expensive, with prices that can go as high as $70 per square foot excluding installation. Not all homeowners can afford this huge cost. Fortunately, there are granite pieces that are 10 to 70 percent cheaper than their original price. These pieces are actually leftovers and are called granite remnants.
Usually, natural granite is cut and diced into slabs. These slabs are commonly used to build kitchen countertops. They are further cut into smaller pieces depending on the size of the kitchen. During this process, some granite pieces become either too small or they don’t fit the desired measurement. Granite remnants are either trashed or sold by the contractor or fabricator at a much lower price. If you can’t afford buying granite slabs, these leftover pieces can be a good option.
These pieces underwent the same process of fabrication like that of the bigger slabs. Most likely, these pieces are polished, shiny and have a smooth surface. However, not all of these pieces have good quality, so it is very important for you to go and visit the stone yard and select the good ones.
You have to pick only the remnants that will match the accent of your home. This can be difficult because a shop’s inventory of remnant pieces can change from day to day, especially if it is a large shop. It is also good to talk to the fabrication shop about the availability of granite pieces before starting your project. You need to do this so that they will know ahead of time what type of pieces you want them to save. Although the surface of these pieces is polished, the edges may still be on the rough side. If that’s the case, you have to ask the fabricator to polish the edges.
Asking for a discounted price for the leftover pieces can be easy. Fabrication shops normally want to get rid of these pieces and they are willing to offer them to you at a very low price. Although granite remnants are small pieces that cannot be used for bigger projects like a regular-sized kitchen countertop, they are still viable for smaller projects. These pieces will be just the perfect material for building table tops, vanity tops, kitchen islands, fireplace surrounds and a whole lot of other smaller fixtures.